Lane markings changed as M4 East drivers confused by 'A44' at tunnels' entry

Road markings near entry points for Sydney's new M4 East road tunnels have been improved in an attempt to reduce the number of motorists mistakenly taking the wrong lanes, ahead of an expected surge in traffic volumes on Tuesday when public schools reopen to students.

Transport officials have decided to refer to Parramatta Road on lane markings as "Parra Rd", instead of its road number A44, because of the confusion it has caused motorists navigating a westbound entry point for the M4 East tunnels at Ashfield in the city's inner west.

The enhanced road markings in Ashfield are brighter and refer to "Parra Rd" instead of "A44".Credit:Kate Geraghty

The instances of motorists stopping in lanes or reversing to avoid copping tolls on the M4 East tunnels – the first major stage of the $16.8 billion WestConnex toll road – and instead taking Parramatta Road, had declined over the past week, officials said.

Ahead of a surge in traffic volumes of up to 20 per cent on Tuesday due to schools reopening, Roads Minister Andrew Constance urged motorists to continue if they mistakenly ended up heading onto the new roadway, and not make risky manoeuvres to avoid it at the last minute.

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"I don't want to see a repeat of the first 24 hours when we saw people get out of cars [or] ... crossing multiple lanes. Any lapse in judgment could cost a life," he said.

"We do want people to be mindful ... that we will see higher traffic volumes [on Tuesday]."

Mr Constance said there had been "significant benefits" to Parramatta Road traffic flows since the three-lane tunnels opened, citing a travel-time saving of three minutes for motorists in peak hours in each direction on the road.

One of the purported benefits of the 5.5-kilometre M4 East tunnels under the city’s inner west was that they would help reduce congestion on Parramatta Road.

Transport for NSW co-ordinator general Marg Prendergast said road markings at junctions had been enhanced over the weekend, including making them brighter, to reduce the chance of motorists inadvertently taking the wrong lanes at Ashfield to the new M4 East tunnels, or Parramatta Road.

"We are progressively moving to numbering the road system but what we realised last week was we need to make it clearer," she said.

Sydney drivers were caught stopping traffic and cutting across lanes while struggling to navigate entry points to the new M4 tunnel last week. Credit:Christopher Pearce, Nine News

"Once we saw people not understanding which way to go, even though there was a massive overhead directional sign, we thought we need to do more."

Michael Hawa, a taxi driver for almost 26 years, said he was impressed by the new road tunnels, and would use his own car on it and cop the toll instead of using Parramatta Road.

"I really liked it. It's better than the M7, the M5 – better than the M2 even. It's nice and wide," he said.

But he feared many people "don't want to pay tolls", which would worsen congestion on Parramatta Road, especially between Burwood and Haberfield, in the longer term.

The maximum toll for cars using the new road tunnels between Haberfield and Homebush is $4.27, while the cost of driving the full length of the M4 from Haberfield to Parramatta is $7.89.

While the tunnels offered a quicker journey for motorists, the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils said the cost of using toll roads to get to work hit families in the city's west hard.

"WSROC reiterates the need for a network-wide toll cap, in the interest of fairness," president Barry Calvert said. "More toll roads translate to less money available for households."

But Mr Constance said the government had put in place measures to ease the cost of tolls for frequent users, including free vehicle registration for people who spent $25 a week, or $1300 a year, on tolls and half-priced registration for those who forked out $15 a week.